Councilman Cedillo defeats Bray-Ali in Council District 1 runoff [updated]

Incumbent First District Councilman Gil Cedillo won the contentious runoff against cycling advocate Joe Bray-Ali based on unofficial results. With more than 100% of the precincts reporting, Cedillo claimed more than 70% of the vote, according to the the L.A. City Clerk.

Cedillo, a veteran politician and former state lawmaker, dominated the fundraising race. Total contributions — for the primary and runoff campaign — amounted to about $135,000 for Bray-Ali and nearly $800,000 for Cedillo through May 10, according to the L.A. Ethics Commission. Independent expenditures made by individuals or groups not controlled by the campaign totaled about $78,000 for Bray-Ali and approximately $564,000 for Cedillo.

An estimated 97,653 residents of Council District 1 had registered to vote by March 1, according to the City Clerk. The First Council District (map) includes all or portions of Angeleno Heights, Cypress Park, Echo Park, Glassell Park, Highland Park, Lincoln Heights and Mount Washington.

Based on the unofficial results, only about 12.8% of the registered voters cast ballots.

Cedillo will serve a 5-1/2 year term instead of the normal 4 years because of changes to the city election cycle.

I hope Gil is more involved this time around, but I’m afraid the one thing we can count on is more development. We must be diligent about Elysian Park and be active watch dogs to ensure Barlow Hospital isn’t ripped up to make way for a massive Palmer-like development. Although Joe made some huge mistakes in his personal life, I do feel he is more forward thinking in regards to creating a city that embraces a car alternative environment and that was exciting to see. Less bikes lanes, more massive development, and a kick ass Latin jazz concert once a year…..5 and 1/2 more years of team Cedillo.

5 1/2 more years of Cedillo and his cronies destroying Northeast LA… great.

Once we start having the last of our open spaces and hillsides getting carved up for Garcetti and Cedillo’s vision of “affordable housing” with more million dollar homes being built people will say “but Joe’s online posts…”

“Affordable” million dollar homes right along side of increased homelessness and displacement, decreased road safety, crumbling infrastructure and neglected parks! CD1 is bordering on oxymoronic at this point.

Stop your pissin and moanin about one of your own being found out. Ultimately, 30% of our neighbors apparently have no problem with the arrogance and latent bigotry of Bray Ali . If only his ilk could be as candid in person, in public, to our faces, we could shame them all out of our community. Instead, we must continue to simply suspect that the behavior and decisions of too many are motivated by the same ignorance spouted by the likes of Bray Ali. Makes you wonder why in the FK do these people insist on moving to NELA, L.A., or even Cali if not to nudge the “others” out by “lawful” and “legitimate” means, e.g., policies that we now Know (not suspect) would’ve been tainted by underlying bigotry and intolerance towards others.

Good riddance to the likes of Bray Ali. Not suited to lead in the communities of NELA.

The poor or those not wealthy enough to purchase bikes sturdy enough for daily use. I believe that you can fill in the rest of the profile of those who were NOT to be included in any of Bray Ali’s vision of progress.

Welcome to the Gilbert Cedillo 5 and 1/2 year retirement plan legacy project! if I’ve learned anything these last few elections it’s this: constituents will continually vote against their own best interests as long as the person selling the idea is someone they identify with. The devil you know, right?

Roadkill Gil ran right over Josef Bray-Ali. Actually he did it to himself and lost in a landslide. He’s destroyed his own reputation in NELA, the bike community, and alienated himself from those close to him. At least he’s still got trolling The Eastsider.

One good thing that’s come out of Joe Bray-Ali’s campaign is that he really brought a spotlight to many of the issues in CD 1 and gave us his road map of what he believes is necessary to improve the district. I personally intend to use it as a checklist to hold Cedillo accountable going forward so I can thank Bray-Ali for that.

Unfortunately, you must consider that any idea of Bray Ali is tainted with underlying bigotry and intolerance of others. Not to mention a healthy dose of entitlement and narcissism. The very things that those NOT represented by the likes of Bray Ali distrust about those he does represent.

Sanjay, that is not true. Competition is good. It brings about issues that need to be addressed. Joe and his supporters can bring about change.

Joe was not a racist and was unfairly named that. Joe could have done a lot for the community and still can. Joe just did not have any experience in politics. I don’t think he ever attended one city council meeting or a police commissioners meeting or any other political meeting before he ran for office. Joe worked his butt off and deserves a lot of kudo’s for how far he got.

It’s obvious that you’re willing to give Bray Ali’s bigotry, arrogance, and disrespectful attitudes towards others a pass because he IS Indian. Otherwise, I don’t attribute his faults to being Indian but rather to being among the arrogant, ignorant, and intolerant Americans among us. THAT is what is “threatening” about his ilk NOT his ethnicity.

I’ve read your posts before. “our community” “outsiders”. Look in the mirror. You’re the typical arrogant,ignorant and intolerant American that you complain about. I’m sure you believe if you’re not a certain shade of brown you don’t belong in this neighborhood. Indian Immigrants face this kind of bigotry in this community all the time. And it isn’t coming from the “invading hipster”.

My extended family has roots in NELA that go back to the 1940s. That history precludes the exclusion of neighbors they encountered when they first arrived and the newcomers that arrived after them but when those newcomers become entitled and attempt to assert some sort of cultural superiority over those that made this community what it is, then they become outsiders who only have their short-term interests at heart and not the long-term interests of the community. Believe me, my family has seen them come and go, e.g., NELA was once a haven for L.A.’s “hippies” who were not much different from today’s “hipsters”, i.e., the more things change the more they stay the same. Meanwhile, I won’t address your perception of bigotry towards L.A.’s Indian community beyond pointing out that there is one shade of “brown” people who didn’t cross an ocean to arrive here and whose culture and history on this land and continent goes back millennia not a generation or two and are still looked upon with scorn and contempt. Even by some of those who arrived decades if not centuries after them. In fact, it was a cornerstone of our current President’s successful campaign and it is the same type of contempt for others that disqualified Bray Ali from leading our communities. Otherwise, L.A.’s Indian community is not even remotely considered a threat by anybody I know but if you’re going to make it in this country you’re going to need to develop a much thicker skin like the many others that arrived before you, e.g., you think our Chinese, Japanese, or Korean neighbors had it easy establishing themselves in this city? Of course not. So what makes you so special or entitled? Meanwhile, in true Angeleno fashion,we’ve always accepted those who want to be included and those who don’t are the self-designated outsiders. What won’t be accepted or indulged is their sense of entitlement or feelings of superiority towards others, which I believe is the foundation of India’s caste system not the cultures and societies of other “brown” people who’ve settled in our city and country. Deal with it but NOT at our expense.

Procopio, after reading the different articles and listening to the different radio interviews, I came away from Cedillo’s campaign without any firm understanding of what he considered the main issues of his district and how he planned to improve it. He focused on ad hominem negative politics and overall, seemed to have a very uninspiring campaign, leaving me and I’m sure many others with low expectation for the next 5 1/2 years.

Personally, I voted for Bray Ali because despite his indiscretions, during the campaign, I found him to be thoughtful, hardworking, eager to help the community, and laser-focused on the issues I care about in CD1. His lack of good judgment and abrasiveness with those he disagreed with bugged me, but he at least looked like he cares.

I really hope I’m wrong about Cedillo because he’s all we’ve got at this point.

“, , , I voted for Bray Ali because despite his indiscretions . . .” You’re putting it mildly, which leads me to believe that you were not the target of any of his “indiscretions.” Some of us don’t have that luxury and must conclude that his latent “indiscretion”, overt abrasiveness, and lack of good judgement would’ve resulted in second-class citizenship for those he arrogantly views with veiled contempt. That is what exposed Bray Ali as unfit to govern or lead in our communities and Cedillo’s incompetence does not result in a pass for Bray Ali’s brand of “indiscretions”. You need to reevaluate your own impulse to overlook this fundamental character flaw at the expense of others, which only reinforces the perception of discrimination and exclusion among those that are still the majority of residents in NELA.

Who is Geoff Palmer? Just TRUMP’s biggest campaign contributor, and the developer of the enormous ugly and community destroying fake Italian stucco boxes called Orsini, lorenzo, or medici .These eyesores and low thought developments look like they belong on a highway roadside and do not address low income housing. the enormous commercial spaces below the buildings are mostly empty and are still making money as a tax right off, yep he can make money by having them empty and right off the vacancy at market rate.http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/geoffrey-palmer-trump-donor-los-angeles-214130

So next time you want to play the ” Gil Cedillo is good for the community game” just remember you actually lying to yourself. LA, wake up.

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